Written Answers Monday 16 January 2006

Scottish Executive

Autism

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, in light of recently published research by the University of Reading showing that children with autistic spectrum disorder have a higher incidence of the Clostridium histolyticum group (Clostridium clusters I and II) of bacteria than healthy children, what steps it will take to ensure comprehensive bowel examination of all autistic children whose parents request it to establish the extent of their gastroenterological problems and which dietary modulations will now be made accessible to parents to improve the gut microflora profile of autistic children.

Lewis Macdonald: I note the research findings with interest. There can be clinical consequences of the Clostridium histolyticum group of bacteria in children with or without autism spectrum disorders. Parents may wish to discuss with individual clinicians what symptoms mean and how they can best be investigated and treated.

Carers

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to expand illness prevention initiatives, such as flu vaccination schemes, to include care providers.

Mr Andy Kerr: The vital role of unpaid family carers as major care providers is well recognised by the Scottish Executive. Chief Medical Officer Letter CMO(2005)07 lays out current national policy on influenza vaccination for carers, requiring NHS boards to offer influenza vaccine to "people who are the main carer for an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if the carer falls ill".

  In May 2005, the Scottish Executive, in association with the Association of Directors of Social Work, launched a framework for supporting front line social care staff. Improving Front Line Services: A Framework for Supporting Front Line Staff offers advice to employers on, among other things, promoting a safe and healthy workforce, including the benefits of illness prevention. The document is available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/05/13124510/45114.

Child Safety

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any concerns in respect of young children and babies being placed at risk as a consequence of the requirement in Health for all Children that NHS boards reduce health visitor checks for children aged under three and a half in order to target health visits on vulnerable children.

Lewis Macdonald: For the first time a comprehensive programme of child health surveillance, screening, immunisation and health promotion is being introduced for all children in Scotland. This is firmly evidence-based and available to all parents, wherever they live and whatever their circumstances. Health visitors will determine the nature and frequency of any additional contacts to the core programme, based on each individual family’s need.

  This is intended to result in more visits for those families who require additional or intensive support, not less.

Child Safety

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what definition of "deprived" is used in determining which children would receive targeted health visitor support, in line with the requirements set out in Health for All Children .

Lewis Macdonald: The criteria "deprived" is not used in Health for All Children (Hall 4)  in referring to which children should receive targeted health visitor support.

  In line with the requirements set out in Health for All Children, health visitors will determine the nature and frequency of contacts beyond the core programme on the basis of each individual child’s and family’s needs. Other support, agreed with the family, will then be put into place. This additional support may be needed because of a first baby in the family, breastfeeding problems, parental stress or other factors.

Education

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hours per week on average children participate in PE in schools, broken down by local authority area.

Peter Peacock: In May 2005 the Scottish Executive Education Department asked schools to provide the average curriculum time per pupil set aside in the 2004-05 school year for mandatory, taught physical education within the standard school week. The purpose of this survey was to provide a baseline assessment of the starting position from which progress towards the target of two hours quality physical education for each pupil, every week could be measured.

  This baseline data has been included in a report on progress towards meeting the recommendations of the Physical Education Review Group, which was published on the Scottish Executive website today. The information you request is set out in the tables on page 6 of the report which can be found at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/11/PEReport2005.

  I have today written to the Convener of the Education Committee of Parliament and to conveners of local authority education committees highlighting the outcomes of the baseline study and making it clear just how far education authorities and schools have to go to meet our targets.

  The Executive will continue to support the recruitment of additional PE teachers and will continue to deliver the range of actions promised following the PE review to support local authorities improve provision for pupils. The Executive firmly believe that improving the provision of high quality PE is a vital component in improving our education system and helping improve the health and wellbeing of our young people.

  The study published today allows us to highlight the scale of the challenge to local authorities and to monitor the progress that local authorities make from the low baseline now fully quantified.

Health

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many towns or cities with a population of over 70,000 do not have consultant-led emergency services within 10 miles of the town centre.

Mr Andy Kerr: The following table details all consultant-led emergency services in Scotland. The Scottish Executive does not hold a list of those towns or cities with populations of over 70,000 which do not have consultant led emergency centres within 10 miles of the town centre.

  

 Aberdeen Royal Infirmary


 Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital


 Dr Gray’s Hospital, Elgin


 Raigmore Hospital, Inverness


 Belford Hospital, Fort William


 Caithness General Hospital, Wick


 Broadford Hospital, Isle of Skye*


 Balfour Hospital, Kirkwall


 Western Isles Hospital, Stornoway


 Uist and Barra Hospital, Benbecula


 Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh


 St John’s Hospital, Livingston


 Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh


 Borders General Hospital, Melrose


 Ninewells Hospital, Dundee


 Perth Royal Infirmary


 Stirling Royal Infirmary


 Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline


 Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy


 Glasgow Royal Infirmary


 Stobhill Hospital, Glasgow


 Western Infirmary, Glasgow


 Southern General Hospital, Glasgow


 Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow


 Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Yorkhill, Glasgow


 Hairmyres Hospital, East Kilbride


 Monklands Hospital, Airdrie


 Wishaw General, Wishaw


 Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary


 Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock


 Ayr Hospital, Ayr


 Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley


 Inverclyde Royal Hospital, Greenock



  Note: *Resuscitation and Stabilisation only.

Health

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in implementing the measures in respect of Patient Focus and Public Involvement and the establishment of the new structures and protocols for the Scottish Health Council.

Mr Andy Kerr: NHS boards are required to have in place a local sustainable framework and action plan for the delivery of their Patient Focus and Public Involvement (PFPI) responsibilities. The Scottish Health Council is now responsible for quality assuring NHS boards’ delivery of these responsibilities.

  Building a Better Scotland specifically requires NHS boards to show year-on-year improvement in their delivery of PFPI as assessed by the Scottish Health Council. These assessments will inform the NHS board annual review process.

Health

Susan Deacon (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether all schoolchildren are examined by trained community eye specialists or orthoptrists.

Lewis Macdonald: The Health for All guidance published in April 2005 recommends that vision screening should be performed by an orthoptist at age four to five years. Until this is in place, children’s visual acuity should be tested on school entry by an orthoptist, or through a programme which is supervised by an orthoptist or an optometrist.

  The guidance also recommends that NHS boards should continue vision screening in secondary school at a single point only, unless this has already been discontinued; that any child undergoing assessment for educational under achievement or other school problems should have a visual acuity check, and that vision screening is undertaken in schools for children with hearing impairment.

  Health for All can be accessed at the following web link: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/37432/0011167.pdf.

Health

Susan Deacon (Edinburgh East and Musselburgh) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps it is taking to increase the provision of eye testing of children in schools.

Lewis Macdonald: There are no plans at present to increase the provision of eye testing of children in schools.

  The Health for All Guidance published in April 2005 recommended the introduction of vision screening for all children by an orthoptist in their pre-school year, between the ages of four and five years. Until this is in place, visual acuity should be tested on school entry by an orthoptist, or through a programme which is supervised by an orthoptist or an optometrist.

  Research will be undertaken to inform future decisions about school-age vision screening.

  Children under 16 years of age are entitled to free eye tests under the NHS.

  Health for All can be accessed from the following web link: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/37432/0011167.pdf.

New Futures Fund

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20642 by Allan Wilson on 5 December 2005, whether the key stakeholders referred to include representatives of client groups.

Allan Wilson: Discussions involved Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise who, as delivery agents for New Futures Fund, deal with individual projects. Discussions about broader plans for helping disadvantaged people into work, building on New Futures models, have been held with client group representatives as part of developing the Employability Framework.

New Futures Fund

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what alternative sources of funding are being considered for projects which have been in receipt of New Futures funding.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how services to client groups will be maintained when New Futures interim funding ceases on 31 March 2006.

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether further interim funding for current New Futures Fund projects is being considered.

Allan Wilson: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-21485 on 14 December 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

New Futures Fund

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many New Futures Fund projects are in receipt of interim funding up to 31 March 2006, broken down by local authority area.

Allan Wilson: Forty-one projects in the Scottish Enterprise area and two projects in the Highlands and Islands Enterprise area received funding up to March 2006 for New Futures Fund. The local authority area breakdown is set out in the following table.

  

 Local Authority
 Number of Projects


 Aberdeen City
 5


 Aberdeenshire
 2


 Dumfries and Galloway
 3


 Dundee
 1


 East Ayrshire
 1


 Edinburgh
 4


 Falkirk
 1


 Fife
 1


 Glasgow
 12


 Highlands and Islands
 2


 Inverclyde
 1


 Midlothian
 1


 North Lanarkshire
 4


 South Lanarkshire
 1


 Perth and Kinross
 1


 Renfrewshire
 1


 South Ayrshire
 1


 West Dunbartonshire
 1


 Total
 43

New Futures Fund

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the outcomes of the New Futures Fund initiative have been in each year since the initiative was introduced.

Allan Wilson: New Futures Fund (NFF) is currently delivered by Scottish Enterprise (SEN) and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). Annual performance is not available but they have provided performance information based on the two Phases of NFF up to June 2005. (Phase 1- April 1999 to Mar 2002 and Phase 2 - April 2002 to June 2005). Outcomes ranged from entry to other Welfare to Work programmes, community based training, vocational training, further education, supported employment and employment.

  

 
 Number of Outcomes
 Number of Leavers
 % of Leavers Achieving Outcome


 Phase 1 HIE
 116
 242
 48%


 Phase 2 HIE
 292
 504
 58%


 Phase 1 SEN 
 1,636
 3,030
 54%


 Phase2 SEN 
 2,410
 4,726
 51%

Prescription Charges

Mr Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any plans to follow the UK Department of Health’s practice and apply a prescription charge to hospital day patients for discharge drugs.

Lewis Macdonald: Under the terms of the NHS (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) (Scotland) Regulations 2001, if drugs are supplied at an NHS hospital to a patient who is not resident in the hospital and the drugs are not for administration in the hospital, prescription charges are payable by the patient unless he or she qualifies for free NHS prescriptions.

  The Scottish Executive has no plans at present to amend these arrangements.

Prison Service

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20860 by Cathy Jamieson on 29 November 2005 and whilst Scottish Prison Service staff turnover is significantly below the UK average, what information it has on how it compares to the turnover level of prison service staff of each (a) OECD nation and (b) EU member state.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  The SPS does not hold such information.

Radioactive Waste

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many transport movements involving naturally occurring radioactive materials waste from the oil industry have taken place from Scottish ports in each year since 1999.

Ross Finnie: This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has responsibility for licensing the disposal and storage of radioactive waste from the Scottish oil industry under the terms of the Radioactive Substances Act 1993.

Scottish Health Council

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how a patient can contact the Scottish Health Council.

Mr Andy Kerr: The Scottish Health Council can be contacted at their national headquarters in Glasgow or via their local offices in each NHS board area. The national headquarters is at Delta House, 50 West Nile Street, Glasgow, telephone 0141 2416308. Local office contact details can be obtained from their website http://www.scottishhealthcouncil.org .

Student Loans

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20847 by Allan Wilson on 8 December 2005, whether it will publish the student loan repayment model it uses to forecast the average length of time for repayment.

Allan Wilson: We have no plans to publish the student loan repayment model.

Teachers

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many teachers are from a black or minority ethnic background, expressed also as a percentage of the total number of teachers.

Peter Peacock: Figures published in Teachers in Scotland 2004 ,available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 36291) show that there were 329 teachers from minority ethnic groups, from a total of 47,163 teachers with known ethnicities (0.7 per cent). In addition 4.8 per cent of teachers had unknown ethnicity through either non-disclosure or missing data.

Teachers

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many head teachers are from a black or minority ethnic background, expressed also as a percentage of the total number of head teachers.

Peter Peacock: Figures published in Teachers in Scotland 2004, available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 36291) show that there were five head teachers from minority ethnic groups, from a total of 2,520 head teachers with known ethnicities (0.2 per cent). In addition, 2.5 per cent of head teachers had unknown ethnicity through either non-disclosure or missing data.